


You mean to me the galaxy

by FreakCityPrincess



Series: A Vast Enough Galaxy [3]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Aftermath of Hoth and Endor, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, And a hint of romance at the end because Kes rubbed off on Cassian, Badass Rebelcaptain, Battle of Hoth, Bodhi’s third wheel game is strong, Character Analysis, F/M, Less Fluff, Missions post-Scarif, POV Bodhi Rook, battle of endor, but a really professional relationship as partners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-12-11 00:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakCityPrincess/pseuds/FreakCityPrincess
Summary: He was not the first person she trusted, but he was one of the precious few who'd ever maintained that trust. Him and the crew that had followed her on a suicide mission to carry her father's dying wishes.There was no one in the galaxy Jyn Erso trusted more than Cassian Andor and Bodhi Rook.Now, a few years on, that trust is still as strong as kyber, and the Galactic Empire is that much closer to defeat.





	You mean to me the galaxy

It's strange how you can go from wanting to kill someone to wanting to kiss them. 

These were Jyn's thoughts as the monstrous, heavy-bellied cargo shuttle sprayed a pathetic off-white to mask its various dents that was badly in need of service swooped down gracelessly above the rocky headland while red blasterfire from two blocks behind dentured it even more. 

Red blasterfire whizzed over and past her head. Her pursuers had got momentarily distracted by the sudden appearance of aircraft. _Momentarily_. 

"Come on, come on, come on!" Bodhi was at the open hatch, clinging to the frame with white knuckles and shouting frantically, panic as apparent as always. She understood now why their pilot wasn't the one flying the ship- he had a bad arm and a swath of bandages wrapped around his head. He was going to get himself killed if Kay didn't up his pickup game. 

Another pair of arms yanked the compromised pilot back from the hatch before himself appearing, cursing viciously in his native tongue as he tried to fling a piton cord down at where she restlessly darted from foot to foot. 

Blasterfire. Close enough to cuff her ear and send searing pain through to her head. Blasterfire on the rocks. Towards the sea. Whistling with the wind. Their aim was this bad only because she was well concealed by the distance, but the 'trooper army was closing that distance. 

The chord ended just short of her maximum tiptoe-height. She'd have to jump and cling on, and in the process give the 'troopers a better-than-clear shot. 

Kaytoo wasn't maneuvering the damn shuttle well enough, or maybe it was the shuttle's lack of capability itself. Bodhi was still panicking. Cassian was shouting at her to make the leap. 

Was he _mad?_

 _Kriff this._

She jumped and missed the dangling cord the first time. Her ankle sprained upon landing. She grunted and jumped again, managing to latch onto the hot, friction-filled length of thin rope. 

The 'troopers had a clear shot. 

She shut her eyes and turned to a side, cursing in her thoughts and not wanting to _see_ the blaster bolt that would get her. 

It didn't get her. 

The cord reeled itself in with unexpected and astonishing speed, cutting the length of her arm with its friction but zipping her to safety before a bolt got her. She tumbled painfully onto the shuttle's cheap plastic tiles and heard the _whiz_ of the hatch shutting just over her head. The sound of blasters firing was suddenly faint, as were the wind and the sea and the frightening turbulence. 

Jyn breathed faster than she had in a while. Another near death. Another mad escape. 

Two faces looked down at her from a short height, one wearing obvious concern and the other a mask of rational calm. 

"Are you _okay?_ " Bodhi gushed, grabbing her hand and squeezing tightly. "Breathe, Jyn, breathe. Force, I almost thought..." 

Jyn shook her head, attempted to say something light. "I'm okay. I need to see Kay, I thought I might kiss him for the sudden appearance." 

Bodhi laughed. "He doesn't deserve _all_ the credit." 

Cassian inclined his head in a subtle gesture to move aside, and the pilot shuffled further towards her head on his knees whilst carefully setting her hand down. 

"Anything bad?" Cassian asked, sounding more like an interrogator than a concerned friend. Then again, that was how he always sounded. 

Jyn winced, sitting up with Bodhi's support. She rubbed a finger delicately against her cuffed ear. The burn was fresh and stung. "No, unless this counts as bad?" 

Bodhi winced. "It's gone black." 

"The troops were virtually blind," Cassian reached out to tweak the lobe experimentally. "This was really as good a shot as they were going to get." 

Jyn raised an eyebrow. "And dangling from a piton three feet in the air _wasn't_ a clear shot?" 

He may have smiled, may have just sighed. She couldn't tell. "It retracts fast. I wouldn't have lowered it otherwise." 

"I didn't know that," said Jyn with a shrug. "But I trust you." 

The Captain's eyes seemed to soften a moment, just a moment, and he gently examined the scalding burn on her ear. He met her eyes again before saying, "I'll fetch the medkit," getting to his feet and disappearing into the cheaply designed depths of the cargo ship. 

A strange silence settled in the air between them. Perhaps it was the adrenaline wearing off, perhaps it was the cursory look Bodhi was giving her. 

She turned to him with a frown. "What?" 

The pilot seemed to be fighting back a smile. "He really cares for you, you know." 

She looked at him like he was stating the obvious, because he was. "Of course." 

The pilot covered a chuckle with a badly coordinated cough, failing horribly to fool her. "Nevermind."

###### 

They constantly found themselves in and out of some of the galaxy's bloodiest situations, extraction missions and bloody run-ins with contacts who suddenly decided to switch sides. They negotiated rebel groups into the Alliance and walked right into the heart of Imperial operations wearing strong but risk-fraught cloaks of identity. 

Jyn had signed up for one Intelligence-run first, and when it had proven a successful cover she'd agreed to work with the division on necessary occasions. Bodhi's role in their Intelligence assignments was only because it was requested- any pilot could have done the job, and the reprogrammed droid could fly a ship well enough, but somehow Draven rarely turned the request down- perhaps because arguing with Erso was an impossible and tiring process, perhaps because the results were always better than expected when all or some of Rogue One worked together. 

The survivors of Scarif were assigned to a specialized unit, and this was where Jyn worked most of the time. Six of them excluding Cassian, whose job with Intelligence mostly required him to work alone. But whenever he needed a mission partner she signed up for it, and whenever Rogue One needed an extra head he readily volunteered.

The first people to notice the interminable connection between the two were the crew they worked with. They lead the team together and acquired success in task after task, meeting a few blips along the way that they worked together to cover up. They always had each others' backs and trusted the other's judgement implicitly, even if the plan sounded clinically insane as was the case with most of Jyn's ideas. As soldiers and as leaders, they naturally complemented one another. 

They were the kind of partnership that yielded results and was idolized by juniors in the ranks. If both of them happened to be on Base at the same time and if one of Chirrut's lessons required volunteers, the crowd would volunteer them without giving either of them a choice in the matter. Whenever it wasn't a lesson and recruits took to their own sparring sessions, a crowd would gather around their match and choose sides, making secret bets as to the outcome of the fight. On Base, they became celebrities in their own right. 

Bodhi and Kaytoo were the only ones who really got to witness how well Jyn and Cassian worked together on Intelligence operations, though Bodhi supposed nothing could really cause the droid awe. Cassian would seamlessly slip into the skin of a new or used identity and as his mission partner Jyn would take up a role that came with it, making his alias even more authentic and adding an extra layer of strength. Captain Willix and his aide-de-camp. Joreth Sward and his wife. They would steal classified documents from diligently encrypted servers and swipe data cards out of Imperial pockets. Sometimes Cassian would gain access to the office of an official whose plans the rebellion wanted to know, while Jyn hovered by the door anticipating a threat to provide cover while he made copies of every relevant file. Bodhi remembered the one time he'd got to go about a mission _with_ them instead of _waiting_ for them. Sward and his wife had had to mingle with various members of the business community at a party where opinions and concerns were exchanged regarding the Empire's trade rules and business environment. The party had reached full swing and it came to a point where even Sward, known to the community as a staunch non-drinker, was forced by his friends to chug down a mug of beer. Cassian had swallowed with obvious bitterness like it really was his first time, then spat it all out at once. He'd apologized between violent coughs and had left for the refresher blinking tears from his eyes to the raucous laughter of his peers. Jyn had slipped in alongside him at a distance and left the building without getting noticed. Bodhi, who wasn't supposed to meet them outside for another fifteen minutes, found himself too close to a drunken fight and hurried for the exit early. He kept to the building's looming shadow as he approached them, stealing glances in every direction (there was a reason he was never a player in undercover operations). Cassian dropped his act as soon as they were considerably covered- although from his position Bodhi caught a glimpse- and made inquiries. Jyn responded and asked her own questions. All was going well, and Bodhi was now close enough to have a clear albeit shadowy view, but suddenly-  
Cassian's arms were looped around Jyn's waist and she was pressed flush against him, his chin on her shoulder and mouth on her neck while her fingers tangled in his hair. Bodhi froze on the spot. He thought he should retreat, but somehow his feet were rooted.  
And then one of Sward's associates walked past them, pausing only briefly to flash the couple a look before being on his way and disappearing into the building. They broke apart as soon as the coast was clear and didn't say anything, Cassian tapping his comm to get Bodhi back online. From where he stood watching the pilot blanched. That had been an _act._

He remembered that on the shuttle ride back, Jyn took the copilot's seat and talked casually to him while Kaytoo and his reprogrammer stayed in the back of the ship. The partners didn't speak so much as word to one another during those five hours, but the streak of animosity was over after that. 

They went back to being the rebellion's dream duo. 

###### 

Chirrut had just finished swiping six rebels off their feet six separate times that day when they'd been challenged to take him by surprise. The only one who'd got anywhere was Skywalker, but the Guardian had whipped around at the last moment with a smile and the declaration, "Not so easily, young one." 

It was only too bad that a couple of people had made bets on the jedi being able to do it. People who'd probably never seen Chirrut's very jedi-like skills in action before. 

Jyn had the good fortune of arriving on Base once the lessons were over with- she'd otherwise be pulled up for a match with Chirrut and face her third humiliating but gracious defeat at the end of his staff. Baze was keeping to a corner and doing repairs on his repeater cannon- it was the only thing he ever treated with such adoration and care- while his more spiritually inclined friend sat humming a prayer to himself on a nearby training mat. She stepped into the hall to say hello. 

Chirrut visibly perked up and turned her way with a warm smile. She pretended not to be unnerved by his detection of her arrival- it wasn't something you got used to, not really. Baze grunted a greeting that she didn't quite manage to catch. By his tone it sounded more like a warning. 

"How did the mission go?" Chirrut asked merrily, tapping the ground beside him for her to sit. "I don't suppose there were any major problems since you're coming to see us and not the med droids." His eyes twinkled with good humour. 

"He's going to ask you to spar with him if you stick around," Baze repeated his warning clearly. 

Chirrut inclined his head in mock disappointment. "You don't want our Star to stick around?" 

Jyn allowed herself a small smile at the affectionate term. She wasn't used to taking affection from anyone, but the Guardian had been a calming force and a pillar of support since their first mission and his words, however cryptic and indecipherable, were always comforting and welcome. She sat cross-legged on the mat beside him and fingered the cord of her necklace out of habit. 

The slight blur of action drew Baze's attention away from his beloved cannon. 

"What happened to your crystal?" he asked with a frown. 

Chirrut looked at her expectantly, encouraging a response. 

She instinctively caught the crystal and straightened it against her collarbone. The edges around where it had broken were still sharp and unfamiliar. 

"It happened two weeks ago. There was a..." She shook her head. "Contact turned bad. Hired a bounty hunter. He couldn't get a clear shot at us, so he took the building down instead. The rubble was bad, but the only actual damage it did was..." She tugged the crystal out of her shirt to show them- well, show Baze, but she was fairly certain that Chirrut wasn't oblivious- the new edges around a crystal half the size of what she previously wore. 

Baze looked at the pendant a while and snorted in comprehension. Then, before Chirrut could say anything, he grunted, "Where's the other half, then?" 

A strange heat came over Jyn's face, adding a twinge of colour to the normally pale skin, but she dismissed it as nothing. "It's with Cassian." 

Baze nodded with an indistinguishable sound and went back to reassembling his cannon, but Chirrut had a knowing and somewhat mischievous smile playing about his lips when he looked at her. 

"The Captain wears it as you do?"

"He does," answered Jyn impassively. 

Baze snorted. "Careful, little sister. That's the kind of thing that will get people thinking you and Captain Andor are more than simply _partners._ "

###### 

The Battle of Hoth had come with a massive price tag in every aspect but mostly life. Soldiers were in critical condition aboard the evacuating ships, even more had perished on the frozen hell itself- and may the Force be with everyone, Bodhi thought grimly as restlessly paced the sterile corridors of the ship's underequipped medical bay. He had been with the pilots who'd tried and failed to protect the planet's shield generator. He couldn't shake off the nauseating feeling that he should've died in the place of all those others. 

Allies. Comrades. Friends. He'd witnessed their deaths in furious explosions of fire and snow and billowing black smoke. He'd never said goodbye to any of them. 

And out of everyone who flew those ships. Tried to take down the walkers. Defend the shield generator. _He_ had to live? 

Bodhi's mind and body were both broken in a way that no mission of the previous three years had managed. No mission except Scarif. But Scarif had let him live with an artificial arm and suffocating nightmares. Hoth had blown up the rebellion itself in a flurry of violent sparks. 

The rebellion wasn't done yet. It couldn't be. And still, in some dark, anxious, frightened corner of his mind, he knew this was the end. 

His leg cracked and he screamed against the pain, letting his beaten body go limp and falling to the floor with a sob that grated his throat. He pushed his bruised back against the wall and pulled his fragile legs into a position to sit. He buried his face in his knees and tried his damnest not to cry. 

Medical droids busy with personnel in critical condition bustled past him along through corridor, patients restored to slightly acceptable condition were rolled out in stretchers and new patients were taken in. Anybody on the waiting list was seated or lying down behind the doors the medical droids were using. Bodhi was outside. He didn't want anything to do with medbay. He didn't deserve it. He was only hanging around at all because he'd been informed that Jyn- his friend, one of his only living friends- was behind those doors receiving surgery. 

_She_ deserved to live. 

He may have stayed like that for minutes or hours. He may have cried quietly for days. His only call back to his senses was the feeling of a rough, calloused hand against his shoulder, that he felt because his flightsuit was torn. 

Bodhi appreciated that Cassian managed to look concerned for him. He really did. But there were far greater concerns the other man felt right now. 

He scrubbed the tears off with a tattered glove- Jyn's gloves, the pair she'd presented him with after Scarif, after his robotic right arm- and made himself speak words. "Are they safe?" 

Cassian regarded him with an unreadable expression for seconds, then dropped the mask and slid down the wall to sit beside him with a frustrated sigh. 

"I don't know," he answered of Chirrut and Baze. "I don't know."

Out of the thirty ships that had made it off Hoth, Bodhi knew that fourteen had been destroyed so far. By the looks of it Cassian had just got news of more. 

"Three more," he answered grimly, as if hearing the unspoken question. He wasn't meeting his eyes. Bodhi supposed that after a lifetime spent as a spy, hiding and masking and changing, it was unacceptable now to let his emotions be known. He certainly couldn't _hide_ them. Not at a time like this. 

They faintly heard the noises of medbay. Buzzing and screeching and sawing. 

"Jyn?" Cassian asked, but he couldn't hide the way his voice trembled. 

"I don't know," Bodhi dipped his head backwards and forced back tears. Maybe it was obvious. Who cared. He didn't want tears washing down the soot on his face. 

Sitting back against the wall, they retreated into their own minds to contemplate what they had left and all they had lost. 

They thought of the rebellion. They thought of the possibility that Hoth had been the last straw. 

They thought of Chirrut and Baze. If the Guardians weren't still alive, they hoped their deaths hadn't been painful. 

They thought of Jyn. Bodhi clenched the leather gloves tightly to keep the tatters from spilling, and Cassian pressed his kyber pendant to his lips.

###### 

Intelligence became more gruelling than ever before. Funding was reduced to almost nothing. The mission runs became dangerous even when a lot of Imperials considered the rebellion crushed and lowered their guard as a result of it. They no longer had the luxury of picking a specific pilot out of many, and so Bodhi found himself swept away from familiar faces in all the ensuing chaos, but he did whatever that was required of him for the rebellion's sake.

It wasn't the end after all. 

With every passing day the chances of his survival, the survival of his only remaining teammates, dulled and dimmed. But with every passing day the Alliance regrew, weak at first but then strong, at least strong enough to repel the Empire. 

The last he saw of the only survivors of Scarif who'd also made it off Hoth was when they departed with grim faces for an uncertain, risk-fraught and long-term undercover assignment as Willix and his aide, summoned by the Empire to overlook the construction of bases, starships and weapons. Jyn had come looking for him before they set off. They'd embraced and hoped to see each other again. It had sounded like a goodbye more than anything else. 

Cassian, knowing the importance of his faith, wished that the Force would be with him. 

Several long months he didn't hear of them again. Didn't even catch tidbits about Willix and his aide on Imperial networks, though he supposed that was a good thing and the Empire would surely talk about it if two spies were uncovered so high in the ranks. 

Right?

###### 

Bodhi had the miraculous good fortune of being aboard the Alliance's mobile Base when his friends finally did return.

Cassian disappeared into the briefing room without a word of greeting. Jyn attempted a tired smile but did not hug him, and excused herself and retreated into her quarters. He ignored his every natural instinct and went after her. 

Bodhi found himself hanging around the door of the cramped space Jyn had been assigned aboard the ship. It provided less breathing space than the common quarters which were often deserted when its occupants were on missions, but the price was a small one to pay for privacy. _Privacy,_ he mused. She probably wanted that right now. 

He couldn't for the life of him figure out what had gone wrong. Well, there _were_ innumerable ways in which a long-term undercover operation could go wrong, but one that managed to do _this_ to Jyn Erso? 

It was terribly reminiscent of that time right after the escape from Hoth, wishing for Jyn to recover and willing the Guardians to be alive. When Cassian turned up he didn't stop by the door for conversation, though; he proceeded to push it open and walk in, leaving Bodhi an unspoken message to follow. 

The room was cramped beyond a degree he thought was possible, and certainly not meant for more than one person at a time. Just to be on the safe side, he left the door open a crack before facing inside and hovering, awkwardly. Cassian sat on the sparse bunk beside Jyn, who looked at them both with half-hearted disapproval. 

"Should've knocked," she said. 

"Command has heard about it as well," said Cassian, getting directly on subject. 

Jyn appeared cynical. "Information like that will just leak? The Empire's really losing its edge. Or maybe they don't care if we know- we aren't exactly in a state to wage war. Not on that thing." 

"What thing?" asked Bodhi, darting glances between them. No part of what he was hearing sounded positive. "What have we heard?" 

Jyn turned the other way, her expression effectively hidden in the dark. Cassian turned to explain to him, not quite meeting his eyes. 

"A Death Star." 

Every bone in his body went stiff, every muscle tightened, his joints went cold. He felt the tips of his fingers shivering. Even the edges of his vision jittered. 

"That's...that's impossible," he shook his head, told himself over and over that he wasn't hearing this. His mind seemed a separate entity from his body. "It's gone. It was destroyed. All those years ago. Luke...Luke destroyed it. We got the plans. Luke blew it up." 

"I know," said Cassian quietly. "This is a second Death Star."

At his words Jyn hauled herself to her feet and raised her balled fists in challenge. "Then what the kriff are we doing here? Why aren't we out there trying to blow it up a _second_ time?" She shook with fury, awkward in the small gap between the bed and the bedside rack. "Tell me we can. Tell me we've rebuilt enough to be able to." 

"Jyn," said Cassian calmly. He sounded calmer than he felt and they could tell, because it was a strange, strange look for his normally impassive, trained face. 

Jyn's fire winked back into a spark and she sat down, utterly worn. "Chirrut would know what to say," she muttered, the bite gone from her words. 

"I know," said Cassian, placing a hand on her shoulder. She inclined herself just slightly. His fingers twitched on her shoulder, but he restrained himself from drawing her into a hug. She didn't need it. She needed to fight.

Bodhi hovered by the doorway, anxious. 

Cassian dropped his hand. He sounded back to business when he spoke next. "Command is devising an action plan. They've already called in Solo. Details are sparse as of yet, but I was told we'd need troops on the ground and our best pilots." He looked towards _their_ pilot. 

"I'll do it," said Bodhi at once. He was determined. Fearful, but willing with all his heart. 

Jyn's face slipped into a mask of unshakeable calm. "I'll join the troops on the ground." 

"The Death Star isn't even complete," Cassian informed them. It came as a not unwelcome surprise. "This is the best shot the rebellion's going to get. And besides, where you go, I follow." 

A small smile tugged at the edges of her lips. "Partners?" She included Bodhi in her glance. 

The pilot let a smile slip and the spy let slip a look of respect at her spirit. 

"All the way," he assured them both.

###### 

When the second Death Star, a harrowing phantom of Galen Erso's legacy, exploded in a violent flurry of muted sparks over the skies of Endor, everyone somehow- maybe it was the Force, maybe intuition or maybe just blind hope- knew that the war was almost over. 

The destruction of the Empire's ambassador. The culmination of all its evils. Nothing but blocks of debris scattered across the vast expanse of space. 

Jyn crawled out of her muddied trench to throw her battered figure on the ground and exhale, wildly, panting and breathing and letting herself believe. The mere fact that she was alive. The fact that the Death Star was _gone._

Ash, blood and sweat blurred her vision. Her left ear wasn't taking in any sound and a screeching ring rattled in the distance. Her head pounded with the outflowing adrenaline. The arm holding a rifle in its crook was indefinitely broken. 

But the Death Star no longer hung in the sky over the forest moon. 

_Bodhi,_ she thought. _Please let Bodhi be alive._

It was a frail hope. There was little chance more than a handful of pilots had survived. 

She struggled to get to her knees, but fell when they gave way and hit her chin in the foliage. She coughed on the bitter taste of blood and soil. Looked around with blurred vision, ignored the ringing in her ear. 

There were no other rebels immediately at hand. There wouldn't be. She'd drawn fire away from a larger contingent by coming here, and only the dead bodies of stormtroopers and a collapsed, half-exploded walker caught in her radius of sight.

The Death Star was gone. The Empire was defeated. 

She may have lied there like that for hours. The disturbing lack of input from one ear made time difficult to tell. With her eyes she caught a slight hint of movement from somewhere close by and she hoped it was a group of rebels, and not 'troopers, who were coming for her. 

She felt herself being lifted. Lifted carefully, not shot in the head. Rebels, then. She caught tidbits of urgent conversation. Her world went black. 

The Death Star, gone for good.

###### 

She found herself waking up beside a crate of explosives and tried to convince herself it was good thing. She sat up too fast, however, and blood rushed fast into her head. She grabbed at her head with both hands and groaned. It hurt worse than normal headaches. 

Hands were on her shoulders, pushing her back down with care. Her eyes were open to slits enough to tell it was a familiar face, but not one she'd ever labelled with a name. Blue eyes and side-shaven hair. He was at least two ranks below her present one.

Tidbits of conversation again. Something about lodging for the injured, ewoks and...tree houses? 

The blue-eyed rebel shuffled uncomfortably on his feet as he tried to answer a volley of questions fired by someone considerably more senior. Jyn frowned as much as her pounding head allowed. She recognized... 

A rough, calloused hand took hers. "I'm here, Jyn." 

Her eyes shot open. "You're alive," she breathed, not even hiding her relief. 

Cassian smiled tightly. "I'm glad to see you, too. Do you think you can stand? I can get you somewhere more comfortable." 

Comfortable. A luxury in the lives they lived. Somehow it didn't sound impossible now, though. 

Jyn's eyes fluttered close. "Lift me," she muttered in defiance. 

To her surprise and the skip of a heartbeat, she found her battered frame being slowly lifted off the moss-eaten forest floor in the crook of arms that were worn but persistent. 

"I didn't mean _actually-_ ," she started with a yelp, but breathed out as the energy left her and dropped it with an exasperated sigh. "Where is more comfortable?" she asked instead. 

Cassian was struggling a little with her weight, possibly because his back and his legs were as broken as her rifle arm, but he had the good grace to cover it with a grunt. Jyn felt no sympathy. He'd brought this on himself when he'd taken her words in the literal sense.

He set her down on her feet with measured care when they reached the foot of a massive tree whose full height Jyn didn't bother to comprehend. 

"It's not a long climb," he said. "I'll help." 

Jyn wanted to say, _Very funny. We're climbing trees on this stupid moon now?_ before she noticed the wooden steps hammered into the side of the bark. 

"Oh," she said out aloud. 

Cassian waited patiently for her to take the first step. She didn't move. 

This feeling was difficult to express. The feeling after a battle that had nearly cost you everything, after you'd convinced yourself at a point that everything you fought for was lost and everyone you cared about was gone. 

Cassian looked back at her with the same blank expression. 

How did you celebrate the end of a war? A war you'd fought your entire life and never expected to see the end of? A war you had quit your morals for, a cause you had dedicated your existence to seeing accomplished, and having survived up to this point, up to the point you tasted victory but without many of the others who'd taken the journey with you- what were you supposed to do when your cause was accomplished? 

"It's over, Cassian," she whispered. More to herself. "It's over." 

"I know," he said. He took her hand, meaning to lead her up to the ewoks' lent treehouse, but she didn't move and he didn't resist. He turned to face her and took the other hand that she offered. They stayed like that a while, communicating no words but reading the other well, purposefully ignorant of the many rebels engaged in various tasks around them. 

"Thank you," he said hoarsely, and nothing masked the emotion in his brown eyes. It struck her like lightning that this was the turbolift on Scarif all over again except they weren't heading into certain death, they weren't about to die for a cause. The war was _over._

His gaze was intent on hers like it had been on Scarif, all those years ago, four, five years before their comfortable partnership, speaking volumes that he wasn't voicing for her ears. 

She was keenly aware of the distance- _or lack thereof_ -between them and the curious attention of the rebels working around them. 

"What for?" she heard herself ask. 

"All the way," said Cassian by way of explanation, and it made sense. 

Before he could draw back and continue up the steps, she tightened her fingers around his and pulled his beaten body around hers in loose embrace. He stumbled, straightening his bad leg, but supported her back with his arms, closing his eyes over her shoulder and fighting the tears that threatened to form. 

The war was _over_. 

###### 

They didn't content themselves with sleep until they got news- _any news_ -of Bodhi Rook's fate. 

To survive the first Death Star, to come all this way just do die at victory's doorstep was a tragic predicament their friend didn't deserve. Cassian had other duties, of course; the moon wasn't entirely rid of Imperial troopers and the risk of a delayed counterattack was still too great. He wasn't in a state for combat but he wasn't in critical condition either. Jyn wondered why her name hadn't come up in the roster of duties. It was probably more than lucky coincidence. 

Still, it wasn't what she felt like arguing about. 

"At least stay till I'm asleep," she scowled, looking extremely unappreciative. 

"You're not going to get any sleep," Cassian said plainly. It was the truth. 

"If you don't stay, no," she rebuked anyway. 

Cassian lingered by the open door for seconds more before relenting with a sigh. He headed over to her bedside- a tatched resting place made of dense foliage, bark and twigs that can't have been too comfortable- and took up a position on the wooden floor beside it. 

Jyn raised an eyebrow. "What are you looking so shy about? We've shared worse beds than this." 

Cassian huffed restlessly. "We've shared beds out of necessity on missions, Jyn, not when..." 

"People are around to get the wrong message?" 

He cracked the barest of smiles. "Half the Alliance thinks we're married already thanks to your crystal." 

"Thanks to the rumours that Bodhi and Luke circulated, you mean," Jyn tried to look annoyed at the memory but fell short. Her gut clenched horribly. _Bodhi._

"Dumbest thing he ever did," murmured Cassian in agreement, and edged closer to the makeshift bed and laid down beside her, closer. 

She studied the patterns on the tatched ceiling instead of him, aware that he was studying her, but allowed it. They were partners, anyway. They had been through the worst times together. She had long ago started to notice that he tried to make his feelings readabe, sometimes, but she never quite managed to acknowledge so much as how _she_ felt about it, about him. 

"That's not what happened at all," protested a voice by the door. "Kes was the one who started those rumours and Luke and I just believed them." 

Despite her broken arm and fresh wounds Jyn sat bolt upright, saw, and sprinted for him. 

" _Ouch,_ " hissed Bodhi as they collided in a fierce embrace. Jyn ignored him completely and tightened her grip. With a weak laugh he held her to him. "I thought I'd never see you again," he admitted softly. 

"We're harder to put down than that, you know it," said Jyn with a smile, but there was no humour in her voice. Only relief and a muted sadness. They hadn't lost each other, it was something; but there were many others whom they _had_ seen the last of. 

"Even the two of you aren't indestructible," said Bodhi with a weak grin, letting her support his weakened frame by a side. 

"Say that again?" asked Cassian in mock offense, appearing by his other side to help. 

Bodhi chuckled. "You didn't think I was dead. Did you?" 

Cassian pretended not to be surprised. "Something told me you might scrape through. Maybe it was the Force." 

Bodhi shook his head. "You have more faith than you let on, Major."

###### 

The end of the war didn't necessarily call for the end of their partnership. There were still mop-up operations and work left to do as their Imperial aliases. But the Empire was weakened without its head, and the risk of life loss during these missions was far less than what they were used to. Most rebels learnt to breathe easy. Bodhi did. Jyn remained guarded. Cassian didn't relax in the slightest. 

Months. That was how long it took for some kind of order to come about. High Command had already dictated appointments by then. 

These appointments did signify the end of their tenure working together. Or directly together, at any rate. 

The rebels left alive after years of fighting the war found adjustment difficult, but eventually they started building their lives from scratch. Kes and Shara had it easiest. Poe was already five years old. 

Bodhi had to say goodbye to his good friend Luke when the jedi decided to focus more on his training...and something about bringing up the next generation of his kind. But that could wait. 

In the months that followed Command's appointments, Jyn held a position on Coruscant that was mostly for name's sake- she was more frequently back on the field sweeping up whatever remained of the Empire's bases, mines and buildings. She ocassionally met up with Bodhi, who dropped in to help on a voluntary basis. Cassian, not so much except the infrequent comm call. 

They had just successfully rounded up a handful of Imperial loyalists making threats to the New Republic that day when they decided kick back with drinks made affordable by Jyn's new position. The Coruscanti bar was among the upper levels and fixed with every luxury imaginable. 

"I hate it," said Jyn, picking up her glass to shake it absently and set it down again without so much as a sip. 

Bodhi looked over his own glass with understanding. "I can imagine," he said. 

They had never lived a life of luxury. Jyn's only experience with anything even close had been over twenty years ago, when she'd been a child and her father had worked among Coruscant's best scientists in a _clean energy_ project for the Empire. 

"Hey, er," started Bodhi uneasily, wincing to himself at how difficult it was to bring these words up. He'd practiced in front of a mirror, dammit. But a mirror couldn't replicate Jyn's potentially violent reaction. "Do you think we could...um, I have the ship to myself for the next two weeks, so..." 

Jyn pushed aside her glass with obvious disgust and eyed him irritably. "Well, spit it out already." 

Bodhi looked around nervously at the dull gold lights, the art on the walls, the glass ceiling and crowded tables. Anywhere but at his friend. "Maybe we could head over to Fest?" 

He didn't dare glance to see Jyn's reaction. He wished at once that he could take the words back. But no glass came flying towards him, so he eventually deemed it safe to peek. 

Jyn wore an unreadable expression, entirely unreadable, but when she caught him looking it broke into a minute smile. "Of course. Fest is lovely." 

Had he just done Cassian a favour or the opposite?

###### 

Their ship was one of the classier models to land on the wide open platform, because surrounding them were utilitarian shuttles of a very much working-class population aside from a large and luxurious Ambassador's shuttle stationed closer to the entrance of the building. The planet had been just part of one of the Empire's many mining colonies, but its Imperial occupants clearly had a taste for affluence; while the platform of the senatorial building was wide and coated in reflective marble, the building stood taller than it probably had to be with arched roofs and massive glass panels to let in the difficult light of permanent Festian winter. The landscape around it was blanketed in thick, impermeable-looking snow, blue and dim, but the world's one sun squinted a few brilliant rays through the thick fortress of gray clouds. The cold stung, but the sun was pleasant on skin and demanded to be felt. Bodhi unconsciously shrugged his jacket partially off his shoulders to feel the pleasant burn. 

Jyn paid more attention to the Ambassador's shuttle, and refused to believe _he'd_ ever contented to traveling aboard that thing. 

They were lead by a guardsman in to a lobby with a high ceiling and native designs on a stark white floor. They sat on the long, plush white leather sofa left behind by the building's previous occupants. They drifted into silence and waited. 

After an uncomfortable, short eternity, the guardsman returned and beckoned them towards a too-tall door. 

Bodhi seemed hesitant to follow even though this had been his idea and Jyn rolled her eyes, grabbing him by the wrist and marching onward. 

The door closed behind them of its own accord and they were left alone with a tall figure in the native Festian clothing of thick and fur-lined black robes. Robes and a crutch for his bad leg. 

Cassian crossed the space between them faster than the crutch should've deemed possible and pulled her into an affectionate hug with a greeting in his native tongue that she didn't understand. Bodhi shifted uncomfortably at her side. 

Cassian pulled back and noticed their shared discomfort at once. "I'm sorry about...this," he muttered, hurriedly shrugging out of the too-elegant robes and setting aside the crutch. Underneath he was himself; less of the battlefield grime that had stuck to his skin in the years of war, but loose shirt, worn cargo pants and a blaster at his hip. Just in case. She never let go of her truncheons either. "Official attire, it's...I don't have a choice, really." 

Jyn crossed her arms tightly at her chest, not quite ready to forgive months of minimal contact after one hug. "Been busy?" 

Cassian shook his head regretfully. "The Empire left too many pieces to pick up. There's too much to fix. We've been trying, all this time, but it might be a while yet." 

"I don't suppose Command is giving you a lot of breathing space, then," prompted Bodhi in his defense. 

"Not really," admitted Cassian warily. "This is my planet. These are people like me. I want to do the best I can for them." 

Jyn dropped her arms and sighed. It was impossible to hold this grudge. "Still, you should've called more than three times." 

Bodhi winced. Had he known it was _that_ bad... 

Cassian regarded his previous partner with an expression that held hints of both guilt and affection. He could hide it easily, but somehow he wasn't. 

This made Bodhi even more uncomfortable. 

"Er, I'm going to...I mean, I have to get back...to my ship. There's a...thing I brought from Coruscant...for Kay. Where's Kay?" 

Cassian allowed this bluff. "You'll find him running a weather scan just outside the landing platform. He's a little edgy these days. Don't take him by surprise." 

"Got it," said Bodhi, starting to head for the door at once. "I'll...er, be back in a while, alright?" 

Jyn watched him go with an entirely unconvinced expression, and turned to Cassian as soon as the door closed. "What was that about?" 

"You didn't really think I'd allow our minimal contact to go on forever, did you? And...I had to see you in person." 

Jyn shook her head. "You set Bodhi up to this?" 

"Yes," Cassian ran a hand through his hair, which was looking just as disheveled as it had looked during the years of war. This little detail she could appreciate. He met her eyes at last. "Jyn, I am so sorry." 

She held up a hand. "Don't be. I didn't know how bad it was on Fest. It makes sense." 

He smiled gratefully. "Thank you." 

Jyn struggled to keep a smile from her own face. She didn't understand the sudden urge- maybe it was a mirror reaction. "Don't thank me. All I did was come home." 

This last line, delivered in casual statement, seemed to break whatever reserve of spy's self-preservation Cassian still held onto and he reached for her face and pressed his forehead to hers, breathing half-words that would've been inaudible even if her left ear wasn't dead to the world. 

" _Te amo, Jyn."_

She wished she understood the language, but Cassian's eyes weren't holding anything back. Again he was conveying more than what she was ready to acknowledge, giving her a chance, yet another chance to accept this...way he felt. The way he'd felt since Scarif and during all their years of partnership. 

But as usual she said nothing, and he pulled away slowly. 

"I'm not willing to call it quits on this partnership just yet," she said, catching his hands before they could fully leave her face. She looked at him with burning eyes. She'd never acknowledged this, any of this, because of the imminent fear of loss that had permanently hung over her when they'd fought in the war. 

Jyn wasn't used to simply having what she wanted. She was used to losing the things she loved just when they started to become comfortable, and so she'd never grown comfortable with him, or Bodhi, or Chirrut and Baze. Still, she couldn't deny she was attached nevertheless. Bodhi, whom she considered trustworthy, a friend. Cassian, whom she considered trustworthy, a partner. Perhaps in more ways now than one.

She searched his eyes, both grateful and worried that he had let his walls down. He was certain and unflinching with the truth he'd chosen to reveal. 

"You need to call more often," she said, for lack of a better comment. 

"How important is your job on Coruscant?" he asked. 

She momentarily faltered. What? "Why?"

Cassian shrugged. "Because I miss you. Because I want to rebuild my life here on Fest, and for that I need a partner." 

Jyn coughed. "A partner?" she clarified. 

He walked back to his desk, hovered there a moment, looked around the otherwise empty room with uncertainty and snatched something off of it. He hesitated a couple of times when he tried to turn. Eventually he steeled himself and approached her again. 

"What I said just now," he started, pulling his half of the kyber crystal around his neck, over the still-bloodied gash that showed on his collarbone and wincing when the pendant touched. "What I've been saying for...quite a while, in Festian. _Te amo._ Do you know what that means?" 

Jyn shook her head slowly. "No. I've always wondered." 

"I..." he hesitated, gaze fixing on a point above her shoulder. He suddenly smiled. "Bodhi's here." 

She grabbed his wrist before he could walk away from this. "Tell me." 

"Later..." 

" _Now,_ you shavit."

Cassian looked down at her with truthful brown eyes. "I love you," he said simply, broke free when her grip loosened, and strode to meet Bodhi at the door. Kay had come with him and was making some complaint or the other about his most recent appointment. 

But she followed him and took his arm just when he stood at the door. "Can you give us more time, Bodhi?" 

Bodhi blinked in confusion, looking back and forth between them, while Kay only tilted his head and ran analytics. Then the pilot nodded, pointed the droid in the other direction and somehow got him to move without a word. He closed the door before he disappeared. 

Cassian didn't even look surprised. "Jyn-" 

She took a step back so she could clearly see him and stated, "We need to talk about this." 

He shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about. It's okay, Jyn. I can't force you to...to feel the same way." 

Her gaze betrayed nothing, only a little curiosity she put on for his benefit. "And what way is that exactly, Cassian?" 

He looked pained. "You know what way that is. I've been trying to tell you...and I get it, when we're fighting a war it's a stupid thing to consider. I also thought as much. But we're both here, Jyn, and the war is over, and...Force, must you make me explain? I _still_ love you. It's not like I can pretend I don't anymore. It's not like there's a war and cause to keep my attention. We _won,_ Jyn. This is what we've been fighting for and it's finally here. Are we going to live the same way we lived during the war?" 

She followed him with impassive eyes, studying, unreadable as he proceeded to turn back, walk to his desk, stop short and turn again to face her. 

"People who fought with us, lived like us, they're starting to catch up on everything they've missed. Kes and Shara are just so _happy._ Jare is running a cantina on Naboo. Bodhi comes here to ride the snow in his free time and help with the civilian efforts, did he tell you that?" 

Jyn didn't tear her gaze away. "I have an apartment on Coruscant and a job. Free time, too. Bodhi and I meet for drinks." 

Cassian half shook his head, half snorted with disbelief. "That's not living, Jyn."

"And what is?" she demanded. She was only angry because she knew he was right. "Moving in with you here on Fest? Riding the snow? Tauntauns? Wampas? A sixty-crew Ambassadorial shuttle?"

Cassian laughed dryly. "We don't have Tauntauns." He didn't say more, just retreated a distance to watch her. By this point Jyn wasn't even sure what she was supposed to say or do.

"What do you want?" she asked resignedly. 

Cassian closed his eyes, like he didn't want any more of this conversation. Still, for her sake, he answered in a voice that didn't shake. 

"To never have to let go of our parnership."

"Draven has no more assignments."

He almost rolled his eyes. "You're difficult."

"Spit it out," said Jyn, taking that as a compliment. 

Cassian took in a breath, running a hand through his hair. His dark, disheveled and slightly overgrown hair that didn't suit the elegance and unnatural class of the building he was in, or the position he was running. "Would it be too much to ask you to marry me?" 

Jyn froze before a prepared rebuttal. She had expected the confession, she had expected everything else he'd said, but straight up _marriage,_ from _Cassian-_ who'd spent more years than she had fighting the war, who was used to discomfort, difficulty, restlessness and survival, used to _pretending_ at everything- being an Imperial, being a happily married merchant, lying to contacts, all for a cause- 

"Have you been talking to Kes?" she asked, a pathetic attempt to dodge the question. 

Cassian mercifully allowed it. "Not a lot, no. Poe takes up most of my attention." 

Despite herself, Jyn laughed. It was underlined with fear and uncertainty, the kind she hadn't experienced when navigating Imperial bases under a guise or darting around an armed contingent of Stormtroopers. "Is he cute?" 

Cassian chuckled. "You'd have a hard time believing he came from Kes Dameron." 

She laughed easier this time. This was the kind of conversation she was used to, and comfortable with. "It's not very smart to say that about your own cousin." 

Cassian pulled a face. "We look nothing alike."

She smirked. "If you say so."

The silence that settled between them was so comfortable that she almost forgot she'd just been faced with a too-difficult question. 

She looked up to find his gaze on hers again, but it wasn't intent and highly attentive this time. They held a quiet understanding like he was ready to accept whatever she said, even if it wasn't in his favour. 

Jyn struggled to pronounce the words. " _Te amo,_ Cassian. But not...not now. Not just yet." 

He had to ask. "Why?"

_Because you deserve better, and I'm not used to having the best._

She shrugged casually. "Because I'm not ready to move in and we both have work to do. Later, quietly..."

There was a reluctant knock on the door. Twice, then the person on the other end seemed afraid to repeat. 

Cassian straightened. "That's got to be Bodhi. Come in." 

The pilot barely looked through the door he opened a crack. "Er, I'm sorry, but the guardsmen here are asking me to move the ship, some hotshot is on his way apparently..."

Jyn sighed. "Looks like our cue to leave." 

"Move the ship," repeated Bodhi, voice hitching slightly. Kriff, how much had Cassian told him? 

Bodhi's next words confirmed her suspicions. "Give it a chance, Jyn," he sounded frightened like he expected her to pounce. "And, um, yeah...there's no...you know, there's no war anymore. If you want this, it's...it's _possible._ " 

She looked at Cassian incredulously. "You told him about the proposal?" 

"Proposal?" Bodhi jumped. "Wait, wait-"

She turned to face him and noticed at the same time that behind her, Cassian was rubbing his forehead warily. 

"Bodhi," she asked on instinct. "Do you think I should marry Cassian?"

Bodhi looked like he was about to turn away and run for his life. "W-What? Me? I don't- I don't know!" 

"This is not how proposals are supposed to go," Cassian closed his eyes. "Is there any way I can undo all of this and...ask later?"

"No," said Jyn and Bodhi at once. 

He raised an eyebrow, partially confused and partially unwilling to believe this was happening. "What?" 

Bodhi looked at Jyn with eyes anyone else would've thought they could _not_ refuse. "I need to go."

"You're not going anywhere," she said, sounding almost scandalized. 

Bodhi made his utmost effort to shrink, appear smaller than even she was. " _I'm_ not the one you should be asking, Jyn. You should just...just...listen to your heart."

"What? Not helping."

The pilot was about to say something in defiance, but they were both stopped short by the anticlimatic sound they heard first. 

Cassian didn't stop his poorly-concealed fit of laughter even when they proceeded to stare. 

"I'm sorry," he managed eventually, still suppressing a chuckle. "This is just...the funniest conversation that's ever been held in this Force-forsaken office." 

Jyn snickered but Bodhi pulled on his best stern face. "Hold on, we still need to talk about this."

Jyn sighed. "Do we?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Bodhi, looking disbelievingly between them both. "Or at least... _you_ have to talk about this, the two of you. You can't get married- or _not_ get married without talking about it first! And I...I don't really have to be here. No. I don't. I'm going to leave you to it, sort this out yourselves and...Jyn, be sensible. Please? I know you're a little scared about this, and trust me, I'd be, too, but..." He had already backed several steps to the door and hovered by its hinges. "I gotta catch up with Kay. Bye." 

The door slammed shut behind him. 

An awkward stretch of silence followed. 

"What are you scared of?" Cassian asked plainly, staring straight ahead at the closed door. He glanced in her direction, expecting an answer, anything. 

Jyn shook her head in frustration. "You know how I feel. But...establishing something like that, it's...it's too early to decide how safe it is. The war just ended. There's still a high chance that we'll be called back to duty and then I could lose you."

Cassian stepped closer. "There's always going to be that risk, Jyn. If we choose to think about it we won't get anything done during our lifetimes."

She clenched her fists by her sides. "You don't get it. I've never _not_ lost the things I love. Just when something is established, just when I start to get used to it, the Empire or the rebellion or _some_ kriffing force of nature swoops in and takes it away. And you deserve better- so much better, Cassian, than establishing something with me and losing it just like that."

He reached for her hands and uncurled her fingers, one by one, not seamlessly but with a little bit of effort because they were tight and forceful. Jyn eventually gave up on resistance and let him. He stroked the back of her palms with his thumbs, trying to ease the tension from them. "That's ridiculous," he scoffed. 

Jyn scowled. "What's ridiculous? I'm speaking from experience and you of all people-"

Cassian lifted her right hand to press a quick kiss to her knuckles. "It sounded like you're some kind of bad luck charm and all that was your fault. It _is_ ridiculous."

She tried to pull away but found she was too drained to break from his iron grip. "It's what always happens."

Cassian laughed mirthlessly. "Jyn, _mi amor,_ if you're going to say no, at least give me a good reason."

Jyn didn't drop her scowl and didn't want to think of any other reason. She didn't think she had to. It made perfect sense to speak from experience. The way he'd put it, however... 

"You love me?"

Jyn ground her teeth with muted frustration. "Yes. But-"

"Then give me a chance. I want to take the risk. I'd take any risk for you."

He had. On the field, so many times. She didn't need proof of that. But this wasn't the field- it was what was left of his life. 

Instead she remarked wryly, "You're going soft, Major."

Cassian half-smiled. "I think I've always been, around my partner."

Jyn snorted, but couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. "Kriff, you're a bigger romantic than _Kes._ " 

The Festian reared back, totally appalled. " _No._ "

Jyn pulled his arms around her shoulders and rested hers on his, burying her face in his uninjured shoulder. She _could_ listen. She _could_ leave the bad experience of the past behind, forget that a war that had plagued her life since its beginning had just barely ended.

"Fest has creatures other than Tauntauns," Cassian said close to her ear. "Could you at least stay long enough to meet some of them?"

Jyn allowed herself a smile. "Peaceful creatures?"

"Mostly," he ran careful fingers through her hair, breath chilly on her neck on account of the Festian cold. "Mostly."

###### 

"Seriously, Jyn? Asking _me_ if you should marry him?"

"You're one the people I trust the most. Why not?"

"It's not _normal_ to- ah damn it, _nevermind_."

###### 

"What? You _asked_ her? Kriff, congratulations, bro! I gotta tell Shara- wait, she didn't...? Are you sure? Maybe she just meant- oh. But that's stupid. You're _perfect_ for each other, ask Shara- Shara, aren't they? She says yes. Poe, you think so too, don't you? Wow. That's the second word he's spoken today, and it's yes. What do you mean stop ruining my child? I've already told him the two of you are married- well, he's a _child,_ Cassian! And...seriously? Whatever, brother. Not the ideal first date. I- yes, I _know_ mine was the Base cantina, but you have _options_ now! It doesn't matter. The two of you need help anyway. Good luck with feeding the Tauntau- sorry, no Tauntauns on Fest. I really need to visit my home planet more often."

###### 

Fest was colder at night without the pleasant heat of its only sun permeating the clouds, but it wasn't insufferably frigid and deadly like Hoth. There were no six-feet deep natural trenches at irregular intervals and the snow didn't rise past your ankles. Winter was a brutal thing on most planets of the Outer Rim but for Fest, a world encrusted in that one season permanently, the weather was bearable and not entirely unfriendly to its inhabitants. 

Bodhi had borrowed three of Cassian's jackets anyway. He resembled something of a human cushion with all those layers of clothing, and Jyn could be pretty certain the pilot couldn't actually see where he was going and that was why he seemingly-casually held onto her arm as they navigated the blanketed streets towards one of the several small farming settlements dotting the landscape. Kaytoo lead the way alongside Cassian. The droid's presence reminded her even more of the days during the war when they'd worked together as a team.

As much as she didn't want the war back, she missed those days to no end. 

"Y-You know, I m-might understand w-why you don't want to move in here," he stuttered against the cold, leaning in closer to snatch a tiny bit of body heat from her.

Jyn raised an eyebrow. "It's not that bad."

Bodhi pouted in disagreement. "R-Right. Because this doesn't even _remotely_ resemble Hoth."

"It doesn't."

"T-Then why don't you move in? It's less luxury than Coruscant."

Jyn bit her lip. It was a point. Coruscant didn't feel like home- the affluence of her residential sector was far from what she was used to. Fest, on the other hand, and Cassian- 

Not Fest. Just wherever Cassian happened to be, in general. Whether it was deep in the heart of Imperial territory or a harsh Outer-Rim planet being investigated for a mining operation. Whether it was on Hoth Base, which nobody in their right mind considered habitable, or the ships aboard which they fled the Empire; Jyn needed just two people to feel at home, and they were Cassian and Bodhi. 

Would it be so difficult to ignore the eminent fear of loss and settle down, like most of their comrades had? To take the chance that somehow, someday, the war would come back and steal from her again? 

_Or waste the rest of your life waiting for the war to come back._

"Chirrut would advice you to leave the war behind, Jyn," Bodhi said quietly from beside her, as if he'd read her thoughts all along. "This is the peace you fought for."

She reached around his shoulder and supported his trudging, staggering figure in the snow. "I know," she said at last. "And I always listened to Chirrut."

Cassian and his droid had come to a stop a few feet ahead of them, Kaytoo scanning the horizon for signs of a storm. The distance looked clear enough, but they supposed only a native Festian would be able to tell. 

"We need to pick up our pace," Cassian approached them with his fists buried deep in his parka. "There's going to be a snowstorm- a small one, but it's preferable to avoid it- within the next thirty minutes. They can be a little sudden like this."

Jyn tilted her head. "Come here."

He raised an eyebrow in question but listened anyway. "Something wrong?"

Bodhi coughed to cover a chuckle and she rolled her eyes at him, starting to shrug him off. "Go on, scan the perimeter with Kay. Learn to survive on your own."

The pilot pouted but she didn't miss the amused glint in his eyes as he walked off, hugging the jackets around him as he went. Cassian spared him a curious look. 

"What was that all about?"

Jyn steeled herself. "I've made a decision."

Cassian started to frown in question, but his eyes widened fractionally as it occurred to him. "About-"

She stepped beside him and laid her head sideways on his shoulder, vying for as much warmth as was possible in the suddenly colder Festian air. A storm was definitely on its way. Cassian reached around her shoulders with an arm.

"And you're going to let Bodhi go cold?" he asked with a small smile, behind which hid a barely-concealed relief; joy, even.

"He's got to pay _some_ price for not wanting to move in with me," Jyn muttered, hiding her own relief at the fear she'd finally faced. 

Cassian pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "We need to get to that settlement fast, _mi amor._ " 

Bodhi suddenly yelped. "Kriff, kriff, snowstorm coming, snowstorm coming!"

Kay turned around to give his owner a disdainful look. "Thanks to the time you've wasted, we're going to have to kick up on speed now."

"I'm not running in this snow," Bodhi hurried over to them. "Carry me or something. I'm _not_ running."

Wherever they were, the pilot and ex-spy. Whether it was the remotest part of space or the middle of a Force-forsaken nowhere; they would always remind her of the war she fought- and the life she wanted to live now that it was over. 

A peaceful life, preferably. With the two people who mattered most to her in the galaxy close at hand, and the nightmares of the past securely locked away behind the hatch of the dark cave in her mind. 

Jyn snaked an arm around Cassian's waist and regarded their friend thoughtfully. "This is the kind of situation," she assessed, subtly touching her lips to the sliver of skin exposed on his neck and taking a strange satisfaction from the shiver he bit back. "That really calls for a Tauntaun." 

**Author's Note:**

> A short fic taking place soon after the end of this story can be found here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16155866/chapters/38799008


End file.
